This topic describes the default limits in ApsaraVideo VOD, including the limits on resource usage and the number of API calls.

Resource typeLimitReferences
Domain nameA maximum of 20 domain names can be configured within an Alibaba Cloud account. Make sure that your domain names have Internet content provider (ICP) filings. Add a domain name for CDN
Resource refreshing and prefetchingA maximum of 2,000 URLs and 100 directories can be refreshed per day and a maximum of 500 URLs can be prefetched per day. You cannot prefetch content based on directories. Refresh and prefetch
StorageOnly one system bucket is allocated per region. Manage VOD storage
CategoryA maximum of three levels of categories can be created in each category tree within an Alibaba Cloud account. Each category can contain a maximum of 100 subcategories. Manage video categories
Custom tagA maximum of 16 tags can be specified for a video. Media asset management
WorkflowA maximum of 20 workflows can be created within an Alibaba Cloud account. None.
Transcoding template groupA maximum of 20 transcoding template groups can be configured within an Alibaba Cloud account. Configure normal transcoding template groups
Review, editing, and snapshot templatesA maximum of 20 review templates, editing templates, and snapshot templates can be configured within an Alibaba Cloud account. Configure normal transcoding template groups
Transcoding templates configured in a transcoding template groupA maximum of 20 transcoding templates can be configured in a transcoding template group. Configure normal transcoding template groups
WatermarkA maximum of 20 watermarks can be configured within an Alibaba Cloud account. Manage watermarks
Watermarks associated with a transcoding templateA maximum of five watermarks can be configured for a transcoding template. Configure normal transcoding template groups
Online editingYou can edit media files that are stored only in the same region. Use online editing
Callback URLOnly one event callback setting can be configured for each region within an Alibaba Cloud account. Configure callbacks
BandwidthIf you use the pay-by data-transfer or pay-by-bandwidth metering method for a domain name, the bandwidth consumed within a minute cannot exceed 10 Gbit/s. None.
Note To disable bandwidth throttling, contact your account manager or submit a request on Yida.

Limits on server API calls

By default, ApsaraVideo VOD limits the frequency of calling server API operations. If the number of requests for calling an API operation exceeds the upper limit, these excess requests are rejected.

When the upper limit is reached, ApsaraVideo VOD rejects the excess requests in a random manner and returns a 400 status code. The error code is Throttling.User, and the error message is "Request was denied due to user flow throttling."

Limits on API operations

ApsaraVideo VOD limits the queries per second (QPS) of API calls for each account. Requests that exceed this limit are dropped. For more information about QPS limits, see QPS limit on API operations.

Limits on IP addresses

By default, the number of requests from an IP address is limited to 300 per second. Note that the limit is applicable to Internet egress IP addresses.

ICP filing

You can determine whether an ICP filing is required for a domain name for Alibaba Cloud CDN that is added to ApsaraVideo VOD based on the acceleration region. If you select Chinese Mainland (ICP Filing Required) or Global (ICP Filing Required) when you add a domain name, an ICP filing is required. We recommend that you apply for an ICP filing on the ICP Registration Support page.

Note If you want to accelerate content delivery for ApsaraVideo VOD in the Chinese mainland, you must apply for an ICP filing for the domain name of your application on your origin server.

Content moderation

Warning
  • You are legally responsible for the content that is hosted on your accelerated domain name. ApsaraVideo VOD regularly reviews the content of accelerated domain names. If illicit content is detected from a domain name, ApsaraVideo VOD immediately disables or blocks the domain name. In serious cases, ApsaraVideo VOD may permanently block all domain names that belong to the Alibaba Cloud account.
  • If you add a wildcard domain name such as *.aliyundoc.com to ApsaraVideo VOD and a specific domain name that matches the wildcard domain such as example.aliyundoc.com contains illicit content, ApsaraVideo VOD disables the wildcard domain name *.aliyundoc.com.

All accelerated domain names that are added to ApsaraVideo VOD must be reviewed. The accelerated domain names that cannot be added to ApsaraVideo VOD include but are not limited to the following types:

  • Domain names that cannot be accessed or do not contain valid information
  • Domain names of websites that run on illegal private servers
  • Domain names of websites that provide multiplayer games and card games
  • Domain names of websites that provide unauthorized software downloads
  • Domain names of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending websites
  • Domain names of unofficial lottery websites
  • Domain names of unlicensed and pharmaceutical websites
  • Domain names of websites that contain illicit content, such as pornography, illegal drugs, and gambling

If the review request for your domain name is rejected, you can perform the following steps to check the reason: Log on to the ApsaraVideo VOD console. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Configuration Management > CDN Configuration > Domain Names. On the page that appears, view the rejection reason. Then, you can modify the content and submit the domain name for review again.

Limits on media transcoding

ItemTypeLimit
PlatformN/AYou can transcode media files on terminals such as mobile devices, TVs, PCs, web browsers, mini programs, and virtual reality (VR) platforms.
Input fileVideo
  • MPEG formats: MP4, TS, 3GP, MPG, MPEG, MPE, DAT, VOB, and ASF.
  • AVI format: AVI.
  • Windows Media Video formats: WMV and ASF.
  • Flash Video formats: FLV and F4V.
  • Real Video formats: RM and RMVB.
  • QuickTime format: MOV.
  • Matroska format: MKV.
  • HTTP-Live-Streaming (HLS) format: M3U8.
    Note If you use the ApsaraVideo VOD console to upload M3U8 files, you can upload them only by using their URLs. You can use the ApsaraVideo VOD API or SDK to upload M3U8 files from your on-premises devices. For more information, see Upload media files by calling the ApsaraVideo VOD API.
  • Other formats: DV, GIF, M2T, M4V, MJ2, MJPEG, MTS, OGG, QT, SWF, and WEBM.
AudioOnly audio files in the following formats are supported: MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, RA, M4A, FLAC, APE, AC3, AMR, CAF, and ACM.
ImageOnly image files in the following formats are supported: PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, and HEIC.
Auxiliary media asset
  • Watermark files: PNG, GIF, APNG, and MOV.
  • Subtitle files: SRT, ASS, STL, TTML, and VTT.
  • Material files: JPG, GIF, PNG, MP4, MAT, and ZIP.
File sizeThe maximum size of a file that you can transcode is 100 GB.
Note If you want to efficiently upload large files, submit a ticket to obtain technical support. For more information about how to submit a ticket, see Contact us.
ChromaExamples: 4:2:2 and 4:2:0.
Output fileContainer format
  • Supported container formats for video files: HLS, MP4, and FLV.
  • Supported container format for audio files: MP3.
  • Supported container formats for image files: GIF and WebP.
Important
  • If you set the container format to GIF, you can set the video codec only to GIF.
  • If you set the container format to WebP, you can set the video codec only to WebP.
  • If you set the container format to FLV, you cannot set the video codec to H.265.
Video codecThe following video codecs are supported: Apple ProRes, AV1, AVC-Introa, AVS2, H.263, H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-2 422, MPEG-4, VP8, VP9, GIF, and WebP.
Audio codecThe following audio codecs are supported: AAC, AC3, AMR, EAC3, FLAC, MP3, PCM, Vorbis, and Windows Media Audio.
Encoding profileThe baseline, main, and high encoding profiles are supported for the H.264 video codec.
Resolution
  • Valid values if you use the H.264 video codec: [128,4096]. Unit: pixels.
  • Valid values if you use the H.265 video codec: [128,8192]. Unit: pixels.
Bitrate
  • Valid values if you use the H.264 video codec: [10,50000]. Unit: Kbit/s.
  • Valid values if you use the H.265 video codec: [10,200000]. Unit: Kbit/s.
Frame rateValid values: (0,60]. Unit: FPS.
Sampling bit depth
  • If you use the H.264 video codec, the bit depth is 8 bits.
  • If you use the H.265 video codec, the bit depth can be up to 12 bits.
Color formatThe yuv420p and yuvj420p pixel formats are supported. If you want to use a standard pixel format such as pc, bt470bg, or smpte170m, you must configure compatibility with a standard pixel format.
Bitrate controlThe following bitrate control methods are supported: VBR, CBR, ABR, and CRF.
Scan modeThe following scan modes are supported: interlaced scan, progressive scan, and auto scan.
No TranscodingN/AYou can use the built-in No Trancoding template group to process videos in the following formats and directly play them: MP4, FLV, M3U8, MP3, and WebM.
Container format conversionN/AYou can convert the container format of a media file without compromising the file quality. The following container formats are supported: MP4, FLV, M3U8, MP3, and WebM.

Increase upper limits

If you want to increase the upper limits described in this topic, contact Alibaba Cloud customer service or submit a request on Yida and provide information about your business scenario and the upper limits that you want to configure for your business. For example, describe the upper limits for the number of domain names and number of calls to the playback operation.